The Gaza blockade is a humanitarian disaster and a security threat

What We’re Reading

Gaza

“The report of Israel’s state comptroller about the management of the 2014 war in the Gaza Strip evokes officially for the first time the linkage between the distress of Gaza residents and the Hamas campaign against Israel,” writes Shlomi Eldar.

The Israeli leadership shows no signs of heeding the lessons of an official report into the 2014 Gaza war that led to massive destruction and loss of life in the tiny coastal enclave, Palestinians warned this week.

While Israel is engrossed in the comptroller’s report on the Security Cabinet’s behavior during Operation Protective Edge, over in the Gaza Strip there is a growing sense of civil unrest: with shoddy water infrastructure, polluted ground water, power outages and massive unemployment, Gaza is looking more and more like a powder keg in the making.

“A recently published report on the 2014 Gaza war reveals that Israel failed to develop its own goals before launching the war and still has not developed a real strategy concerning the Gaza Strip,” writes Ben Caspit.

Israeli TV host, comedian and comedy writer Assaf Harel used the final episode of his show “Good Night with Assaf Harel” on Wednesday night to draw attention to the stark differences in living standards in Israel, and to denounce the treatment of Palestinians.

Since the Hamas takeover of Gaza in 2007, Israel has permitted visits between the two areas by immediate family only, according to a special procedure that applies in cases that fall within its narrow definition of “humanitarian”: serious illness, a wedding, or mourning. Only 25% of requests that fit this definition have been approved.

Palestinian politics

The majority of Palestinians have become increasingly pessimistic at the prospect of reaching a peace deal with Israel since the election of US President Donald Trump, a new poll published on Thursday indicated.